A Concept Analysis: Caregivers’ burden of Elderly Adults with Alzheimer’s Disease

Consequently, exploring the concept of caregiver burden in caregivers of elderly adult with AD is important to ensure a better quality of care in elderly with AD. Burden as a concept was first explicated by Hoenig and Hamilton. 6 Literature suggests that caregiver burden and depressive symptoms are interrelated in caregivers of persons with cancer and AD, with the burden being a precursor to depressive symptoms. 7 However, the burden is normally found in caregivers especially of elderly adults with AD. It is very important to consider caregiver burden and give a definition for caregiver burden. Given that concept analysis is not a standard method to generate or clarify the characteristics or concepts of caregiver burden in AD, it has not only been defined from the literature review but also from relevant attributes and irrelevant attributes. Concept analysis is thus beneficial in refining ambiguous concepts, which can become a precursor of theory, enhance knowledge development for research, and help to improve practice. 8 Abstract The purpose of a concept analysis of caregivers’ burden is to identify this in formal and informal caregivers to provide improved care to elderly adults with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and to reduce the burden of caregiving. The concept analysis proposed was conducted by Walker and Avant’s eight-step method. The search was performed in December 2016. Four databases were included: CINAHL, EBSCO Host, Google Scholar, and Science Direct. The outcome of the search was five areas found overall: nursing, gerontology, medical, public health, and psychological. Exclusion criteria included editorials, and duplication in each database. Finally, 24 papers were used for analysis in the concept of “caregiver burden in caregivers of elderly adults with AD”. The result of the concept analysis has three attributes including: physical and psychological problems, family function, and social support.